


DRIVE HOME

by pannacottafugo



Series: THINGS YOU SAID WHEN... [3]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Modern AU, Modern Era, Multi, One Piece Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:55:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29221317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pannacottafugo/pseuds/pannacottafugo
Summary: things you said while driving
Relationships: Roronoa Zoro & Reader, Roronoa Zoro/Reader
Series: THINGS YOU SAID WHEN... [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2126052
Kudos: 8





	DRIVE HOME

**Author's Note:**

> part of the 'things you said' drabble set.

The drive is much quieter than usual.  
‘Usual’, for the two of you, is you announcing dibs on the aux cord the moment you slide into the passenger seat, Zoro usually protesting because it’s his car, and there’s apparently only a certain amount of your music he can handle while driving. Not that your music really bothers him; it’s pretty good. He needs to be extra careful or you’ll catch his mouth turning upwards and get on his case about stupid hypocritical green-haired idiots.  
You’ve never actually explicitly called him a stupid hypocritical green-haired idiot, though. It’s funny. You’ve never made fun of him outright like that.  
He doesn’t really care to return the courtesy. If he’s talking shit, you’ll know he’s talking shit and you’ll especially know that he’s talking shit about you. You complain about that too, saying that he doesn’t deserve you.  
He doesn’t have anything to say to that (the usual response is a casual upward flick of his middle finger), but Zoro often thinks to himself that you’re right. He doesn’t.  
He’d never dare say that to you, of course; you’d get all huffy and tell him to spread that fat ego of his a little more evenly… or grow it until it covered up the bald spots. That metaphor always makes him shake his head because it makes no sense. It’s not hair, or butter on bread… there’s no spreading and there’s no bald spots. It is what it is.  
He told you that once, and you twisted his ear so sharply that it throbbed for a month straight afterwards.   
Zoro doesn’t really like using his head. There’s a lot of stuff in there that he can think of if he’s got the time and the quiet, and that stuff isn’t really something he likes to have to recollect. It’s a good thing he does the things he does; spending time with people like Luffy and the others, or even you, distracts him enough from the dangers of his own mind.   
It’s a contradictory thing, really. He’s not a noisy person but can’t stand the quiet. It fits his friend group perfectly, though, with the others pretty much compensating for the noise he doesn’t make. Even with you, he’s not the biggest talker; it’s always you. You chatter, and he listens. It works well. He doesn’t have to retreat into his own head, and you get to spew whatever shit you want. He doesn’t even need to respond. You’re perfectly comfortable monologuing on and on for as long as necessary- only around him, though. Other people aren’t quite so lucky as to see this side of you.   
It’s one of the reasons this silent car ride is unsettling him so much.  
He can’t bring himself to break it, though… what would he say? And would he disrupt whatever mood you were in? Did you even want to talk right now? Surely there was a reason you were staying silent… would it be a bother if he talked?   
Zoro can’t remember a time where you’ve looked more desolate, and he’s seen you go through a lot of shit.   
For one, you’re silent right now. None of those other… incidents… really silenced you; if anything, they made you keep talking just to try to move on. This one seems to have drained all the conversation out of you, and he’d never say it out loud, but it’s slightly scary. And not just because he detests silence.   
For two, you’re slumped against the passenger seat’s window with your cheek pressed unbecomingly against the glass. Not that either of you care about what’s becoming or not, he just isn’t used to seeing you like that unless you’re asleep. From what glimpses he gets of your face in the wing mirror, your eyes are empty, not even trailing after the headlights of the various cars you both speed past.   
Zoro knows he needs to say something. Anything, really, would work- but he’s still dithering over what to say.  
He exhales, gripping the wheel a little more roughly. This is hard, to actually have to force himself to speak. Zoro hadn’t realized that this kind of situation existed outside school, but… apparently it did, and apparently it was now.  
“Wanna talk about it?”  
Your finger twitches slightly. Then, you shake your head, not bothering to straighten up or face him.   
He nods. “That’s okay. That’s fine. No problem.”  
You slump further down into the seat as he turns into your street.   
He’s thankful that the ride’s almost at an end. Not that he doesn’t want to be around you, more because he doesn’t know if he’s messing shit up or not. Sure, he knows you better than almost everyone else, but he is still not equipped to handle all your moods.  
That’s probably not good. He needs to work on it.  
You turn away from the window as Zoro pulls into your driveway, still not saying anything. If this was a usual night, you’d probably spend these last few seconds in his car doing something to push his buttons, but this is not a usual night. He’s had to remind himself of that a lot.  
As the car comes to a halt, you turn towards him. He turns back, hoping his face doesn’t betray exactly how much he wants you to say something right now.  
You’re still silent as you lean in towards him, press your lips against his. But, after you pull away, you look significantly less glum.   
As you step out of the car, you mouth him a quick thank you and Zoro knows then. He’s not a bad friend or boyfriend at all.  
You smiled, and you don’t smile for just any reason. This smile in particular, was a thank you, because he did the right things. 


End file.
